prowrestlingfandomcom-20200223-history
Bill Irwin
| birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | resides = Duluth, Minnesota | billed = | trainer = Scott Irwin Verne Gagne | debut = 1979 | retired = 2001 }} Barney William Irwin (September 17, 1954) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Wild" Bill Irwin. Irwin is also known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as The Goon in 1996. Professional wrestling career The Super Destroyers/The Long Riders (1979-1987) Irwin began wrestling in 1979 in the National Wrestling Alliance's Central States territory and in World Class Championship Wrestling. He was soon teaming with his brother Scott Irwin as the masked "Super Destroyers" with manager Skandor Akbar. Irwin then moved on to Jim Crockett Promotions and the American Wrestling Association where he and his brother wrestled as the "Long Riders" and won several tag team titles together. Their tag team ended in 1987 when Scott died from a brain tumor. Irwin later provided extensive commentary on the WWE's "The Triumph and Tragedy of WCCW" video retrospective of World Class Championship Wrestling, regarding his time in Texas, what it was like to wrestle in the Dallas Sportatorium, and his fateful trip with David Von Erich to Japan. Independent circuit/World Championship Wrestling (1987-1996) Irwin stayed in wrestling in the independents and resurfaced in the NWA during 1989. Later he would form a tag team with Black Bart in the Global Wrestling Federation from 1991 to 1992. Irwin, as "Wild" Bill Irwin, also appeared sporadically in World Championship Wrestling, including in a loss to Davey Boy Smith in Smith's WCW debut at SuperBrawl III. World Wrestling Federation (1996, 2001, 2007) In 1996, Irwin wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation as The Goon, a hockey character who was "kicked out of every league he ever participated in." He made his TV debut on the July 20, 1996 episode of Superstars. The gimmick did not last long, as he left a few months after arriving. In 2001, Irwin returned to the WWF for one night, resuming the gimmick of "The Goon" for the gimmick battle royal at WrestleMania X-Seven. On Raw XV, the 15th-anniversary WWE Raw special on December 10, 2007, Irwin, wrestling as "The Goon" once again, and sporting a thick moustache, participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal. He was eliminated by the Repo Man. Independent circuit (1999-present) Upon leaving the WWF in 1996, Irwin began wrestling on the independent circuit. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **Bicycle kick **Superplex *'Signature moves' **Lariat *'Managers' **Skandor Akbar *'Nicknames' **"Wild" Bill Irwin Championships and accomplishments *'Big D Wrestling' **Big D Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **Big D Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time) **Big D Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mr. Mister *'Central States Wrestling' **NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bryan St. John *'Continental Wrestling Association' **AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Larry Latham *'Georgia Championship Wrestling' **NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Scott Irwin *'Global Wrestling Federation' **GWF Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time) **GWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Black Bart *'Lutte Internationale' **Canadian International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Scott Irwin *'NWA Big Time Wrestling / World Class Championship Wrestling' **NWA American Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with King Kong Bundy (1) and Super Destroyer #2/Scott Irwin (4) **NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **[[NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version)|NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version)]] (2 times) - with Frank Dusek (1) and Bugsy McGraw (1) **WCCW Television Championship (4 times) *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **PWI ranked him # 311 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003. *'Steel Domain Wrestling' **SDW Television Championship (1 time) *'Universal Wrestling Federation' **UWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Leroy Brown External links *Bill Irwin Profile on CAGEMATCH *Bill Irwin Profile on Online World of Wrestling Category:American wrestlers Category:Minnesota wrestlers Category:1954 births Category:1979 debuts Category:All Japan Pro Wrestling alumni Category:American Wrestling Association alumni Category:Central States Wrestling alumni Category:Continental Wrestling Association alumni Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Georgia Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Global Wrestling Federation alumni Category:Heavy On Wrestling alumni Category:Jim Crockett Promotions alumni Category:Lutte Internationale alumni Category:National Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:NWA Big Time Wrestling alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Syndicate alumni Category:Professional Wrestling Federation alumni Category:St. Louis Wrestling Club alumni Category:Stampede Wrestling alumni Category:Steel Domain Wrestling alumni Category:Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) alumni Category:World Championship Wrestling alumni Category:World Class II: The Next Generation alumni Category:World Class Championship Wrestling alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Living people Category:Male wrestlers